SG-13: Parallel

Episode 1

"Through the Looking Glass"

/Author's Note: SG-13 is a 5-episode miniseries loosely related to our ongoing Stargate fan series, Stargate Genesis, which you can find on our author page. You don't need to have read Stargate Genesis to understand this series. Stargate Genesis is set to continue in July with the premiere of Season Two./

From the personal journal of Colonel Gary Benson:

"The Stargate. Damn. I've been to hundreds of worlds around the galaxy, each one more of a shithole than the last. Makes me proud to be from Earth. Turns out, even after all the fighting and the wars, humans are the only damn species in the universe who know how to maintain a proper civilization. The reason my team goes through the Stargate time and time again is to find new technology and advantages against the aliens that can't leave well enough alone. First it was the Goa'uld, then the Ori; if it weren't for the damn aliens, the galaxy would be at peace by now. My team is 100% Earth-born human, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

~~00~~

Colonel Gary Benson watched a small squirrel-like creature scurry up a pine tree. The blue light of the event horizon behind him sent shimmering patterns across the bark.

"This is Colonel Benson to Stargate Command," he said into his radio. "All clear on this end. We will dial home in three hours to make a report."

"Copy that, Colonel," came Harriman's voice. "Good luck out there."

There was a rush of sound as the Stargate shut down and the wormhole was severed.

"What do we have, doctor?" he asked.

"There is an energy signature emanating from a point just a few miles north of here," said Dr. Frank Wils. The man was an egghead, but not like any other egghead Benson knew. Wils was combat trained, and knew as much about hand-to-hand defense as he did about naquadah generators and Goa'uld dialects. Other SG team leaders might be content with slack-jawed four-eyed nerds slowing them down, but not Benson. He did not tolerate weak links.

SG-13 moved out, heading toward the energy signature.

"Keep your eyes open," said Major Elise Hurt. She lead, following Wils' directions. Benson followed behind Wils, and Captain Jared Smith took the rear.

Hurt and Smith were the muscle of Benson's team. Though she was the smallest member, Hurt was by far the toughest, and she was a natural leader. Benson was close to retirement, and he intended to recommend Hurt for a position as an SG team leader when he did.

Smith was quiet. In all the time he had served under Benson on SG-13, the man had never uttered more than five words in a row. Smith was a huge man; he was an excellent soldier who followed orders without hesitation and responded to changing scenarios with the reflexes of a veteran special ops agent, though he was the youngest member of the team.

Hurt stopped and unclipped the P90 from her vest. She held up a hand, signalling for the team to stop. Moving forward slowly, she trained her rifle on a cluster of small pines. The trees rustled, and then a four legged deer-like creature walked out from behind them.

"It's just an animal," she said.

"Major Hurt, spooked by a deer," said Wils, chuckling.

"Keep laughing, doc," said Hurt. "Just give me a reason."

"Steady," said Benson. "We're in unexplored territory. Don't get sloppy."

Leaving the deer, SG-13 crested a hill and looked out across a valley. In the middle of a clearing about a mile off, the remains of an ancient building stood.

"That's it," said Wils. "Those ruins are the origin point of the energy signature."

~~00~~

At the ruins, Benson watched as Wils assembled a tripod and perched a measuring instrument on it. The scientist carefully adjusted the device, jotting down notes on a handheld computer tablet as he went. Wils had positioned himself in the middle of what appeared to be the central room of the ruins. The entire building was about as big as a large house, and was built in a clearly recognizable Goa'uld style.

The walls of the neglected room were crumbling and in some places missing entirely, which afforded Benson a clear view of Major Hurt returning from a sweep of the perimeter.

"It looks like no one's been here in years, Colonel," said Hurt. "I found a few broken staff weapons, but nothing else."

Smith entered the room from the far side.

"All clear, Colonel," he said.

"It's strange," said Wils, still looking intensely at the instrument he had assembled. "There is an energy signature here, right here, but there's nothing left."

"Could it be underground?" asked Benson.

"No, it's right here," said Wils. "The thing is, I've seen these patterns before. Similar patterns are given off by a Zero Point Module."

"So what does that mean for us?" asked Hurt.

"It means this point in space is linked to a point in space in another reality," said Wils. "In the case of a ZPM, the link is to a pocket of subspace-time, but in this case, I think there is a link to a parallel universe."

"How is that possible?" asked Benson.

"There must be a device in the other reality that is creating a connection between the two universes," said Wils. "I think the room we are standing in might actually exist in a space shared by both realities."

Benson felt a drop of sweat form on his neck. The temperature in the air seemed to have suddenly risen by ten degrees.

"Let's make sure we stay in our universe, then," he said.

"That's the thing, Colonel," said Wils. "If we can't find the device creating the bridge, then I have no way of controlling what reality we end up in."

Benson heard a sound like the roar of an airplane in the air above him. He looked up to see a Jaffa death glider fly past. In a fraction of a second he had his P90 raised, tracing the glider's path.

"Colonel…" he heard Hurt say. Turning around, Benson saw three Jaffa warriors walking toward the ruins.

"Did the General say anything to you about Jaffa Nation activity on this planet?" whispered Hurt.

"Not Jaffa Nation…" breathed Smith.

Benson squinted his eyes at the still far-off Jaffa. Smith was right; warriors of the Free Jaffa Nation would never carry Goa'uld battle standards. He held up his hand and motioned for the team to leave quietly out the back entrance of the ruins.

~~00~~

Half an hour later, SG-13 had circled around to the hilltop where they had first spotted the ruins. Several groups of Jaffa warriors had gathered around the area.

"What the hell is going on?" hissed Benson.

"This is a Goa'uld scouting party," said Wils. "But I don't recognize the symbol the Jaffa are wearing."

"The Goa'uld were wiped out," said Benson. "They can't be here."

"We don't know for sure they are all gone, sir," said Hurt.

"More importantly, we don't know for sure we're still in the same reality," said Wils. "Did you notice the temperature has increased since we got here?"

"If you got us stuck in another reality, doc…" groaned Hurt.

"We're going to make a run for the gate," said Benson. "Right now we need to get back to Stargate Command."

"But what if this isn't our reality?" asked Wils.

"Yeah," said Hurt sharply, staring at Wils. "That would sure be unfortunate, doc."

"Even if this isn't our reality, there's a good chance that the reality we are in still has a Stargate Command," said Benson. "There are too many Jaffa down there, and they don't look like they're getting ready to leave. There's no way we'd make it back to the ruins, let alone with enough time for the doctor to figure out how to get us back home."

"We could try negotiating…" offered Wils.

"Maybe you don't remember the Goa'uld, doctor," said Benson, "but these bastards don't 'negotiate'."

~~00~~

Crouching behind a bush a few dozen meters from the stargate, Benson watched as a squadron of Jaffa warriors patrolled the clearing around the gate. There were four warriors; Benson's team had four members. The odds were in his favor. Turning to Hurt, he motioned for her to take point.

Hurt nodded and began to make her way toward the Jaffa. When she was close enough, she stepped out from behind a tree and took the first two guards out with her P90 before they had a chance to respond. The other two Jaffa raised their staff weapons to fire on her, but were cut down by Smith and Wils, who had circled around behind them.

"Dial the gate, doctor," called Benson, moving forward into the clearing. "Hurt, Smith, keep an eye out."

Wils ran to the DHD and punched in the address for Earth. As soon as the wormhole stabilized, he used his tablet to send the team's IDC through to Stargate Command.

"They've accepted our IDC," he said. "The iris is open for us."

A staff weapon blast narrowly missed him, scorching the ground near his feet.

"Let's move, people!" shouted Benson, firing his P90 in the direction the blast had come from. A squad of Jaffa warriors was running toward the gate. Wils ran through the event horizon, followed by Smith and Hurt. Benson was the last one through, firing at the oncoming Jaffa even as he stepped backward through the gate.

On the other side, Benson stepped through into Stargate Command.

"They're all through, close it down!" came an unfamiliar voice, before the wormhole disappeared.

Benson turned around to see the gate room full of airmen with their weapons aimed at his team. The side door opened and a man in a general's uniform walked through. The name printed on his uniform was "General Charles Kawalsky."

"Would someone please tell me who these people are, and how they got SG-13's IDC?" asked General Kawalsky.

~~00~~

SG-13 sat in the conference room in silence. The airman standing guard at the door stepped aside as General Kawalsky walked in, followed by another man wearing a colonel's uniform. Kawalsky set the folder he was carrying down on the table.

"Your story checks out," he said. "You've been cleared by medical, and I've seen this kind of thing before, so I'm authorizing all four of you for active duty here at Stargate Command, if you're interested. Colonel Lorne here will assist you all with the transition process."

Lorne nodded in agreement. "Whatever I can do to help," he said.

"Transition process?" barked Benson. "What makes you think we're staying here? I barely even know where 'here' is!"

"It's too dangerous to attempt to return to the planet you came from," said Lorne. "Frankly it was a stroke of luck you were even able to get out of there in the first place."

"You call it luck," smirked Hurt, crossing her arms. "I'm pretty sure it was the other thing."

"However you made it through the gate," said Kawalsky, "it will be much harder next time. Lord Utu's forces are occupying the planet. I won't risk any of my men or resources to get to a device you don't even know how to use."

"Lord Utu?" asked Wils. "As in Goa'uld?"

"Who did you think were firing staff weapons at you?" asked Kawalsky.

"In our reality the System Lords were wiped out years ago," continued Wils. "Not to mention the fact that Lord Utu was a minor system lord; he was a laughing stock among the Goa'uld."

"Nobody is laughing at him here," said Lorne. "Eight years ago we had the Goa'uld backed into a corner. The System Lords were broken and scattered, but then Lord Utu showed up. Within six months he had defeated every major power in the galaxy."

"But you're still here," said Wils. "Why would he leave you alone?"

"We made a deal with him," said Kawalsky, looking away.

"You made a deal with a Goa'uld?" yelled Benson incredulously.

"We did what we had to do," said Lorne. "Trust me, you've never met a Big Bad like Utu."

"Maybe in this reality they never encountered the Ori," said Wils, looking at Benson.

"Oh, we met the Ori," said Kawalsky. "They came here and tried to take over the galaxy, but Lord Utu kicked their asses and sent them packing. Haven't heard from them since."

"So what the hell do you do, if you're not working against this Utu guy?" asked Hurt.

"The same thing we've always done," responded Kawalsky. "Travel to unexplored planets and help where we can. Now I've got a lot on my plate, so I'll leave Colonel Lorne with you to show your team around."

~~00~~

Dr. Wils walked alongside Colonel Lorne down a hallway, while Benson, Hurt, and Smith followed behind.

"I've got to ask: have you met me in your reality?" asked Lorne.

"I don't know you well, but yeah, we've met," said Wils.

"What am I like?" asked Lorne.

"As far as I can tell, you're pretty much exactly the same," said Wils. "Last I heard you were stationed in Atlantis."

"Atlantis is real?" asked Lorne.

"We've been operating a command out of Atlantis for the past eight years," responded Wils. "You never found it?"

"We had people looking for it, but then when Utu showed up … we lost our lead man on the project," said Lorne. "Since then we've had bigger problems."

"What about us?" asked Wils. "Have you met your versions of us?"

"Actually, I don't recognize any of you," said Lorne.

"That's not surprising," said Wils. "It seems to me that the SG program here is not as large as the one we have back home."

"We're here," said Lorne. They had come to a short hallway with three doors on either side and one on the end. Four of the doors were open, and inside Wils could see beds and dressers.

"You've been assigned temporary living quarters here," said Lorne. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall, and the dining hall is two floors up. If you need anything, just ask. I'll be back later to check on you."

Lorne walked off, leaving SG-13 standing in the hallway. Hurt looked at Wils and shook her head.

"I am so gonna kill you, doc," she said.

"As if you could," he responded.

~~00~~

Benson, Hurt, Smith, and Wils sat together at a table in the cafeteria. Despite their situation, every member of the team knew well enough to eat when they could. They were in a reality foreign to them, and the odds of ever returning home were getting slimmer. Once they put a plan into motion, there was no way of knowing when they would get to eat again.

"So, what's our play?" asked Hurt, leaning in conspiratorially.

"If we can make it back to the planet, I may be able to reverse the process and bring us home," said Wils.

"How long would that take?" she asked.

"I have no idea," responded Wils. "I don't even know what it is that brought us here, and when we switched realities, there was still no device in those ruins. The catalyst might be in another reality."

"Blah, blah, science," said Hurt. "Give me a rough estimate."

"Maybe three hours," said Wils. "Assuming I can locate the device. Plus the area is crawling with Jaffa; if I am busy trying to get the device to work, there is no way we hold them off for three hours."

Hurt looked over at Smith, who smirked. "You think we need your help, doc?" she said.

"There is no play," interrupted Benson. "Back in our reality, General O'Neill is always talking about how great Major Kawalsky was. If this reality's Kawalsky is anything like him, I'm sure he will listen to reason."

~~00~~

Benson knocked on the General's office door.

"Come in," Kawalsky called.

Opening the door, Benson saw Kawalsky sitting at his desk, which was neat and orderly. On the wall in a row were framed photographs of Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill, and a few other people Benson didn't recognize. As he walked in, Kawalsky shut the laptop in front of him and motioned to a chair in front of the desk.

"Have a seat, Colonel," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Who are the people in the photos?" asked Benson, taking a seat. "I recognize Carter and O'Neill."

"Deceased members of SG-1," said Kawalsky. "Major Samantha Carter died after SG-1's second mission. An infant Goa'uld symbiote crawled into her head and tried to take over Stargate Command. Back then we knew so little about how the Goa'uld worked; we killed her right along with the parasite. She was one of the best the program's ever seen."

"In our reality, that's what happened to you," said Benson. "Samantha Carter is still alive. She went on to become a general, and now she runs Stargate Command."

Kawalsky looked over at Carter's picture and sighed. "Huh," he said. "Funny how things work out. I suppose you're going to tell me Jack O'Neill is still alive, too?"

"Actually, sir, he is," said Benson.

Kawalsky stared at the photographs on the wall, deep emotions stirring inside him. Sam and Jack weren't here, and yet he was. Hearing how it might have happened another way, he knew that who lived and who died all came down to random chance. He wasn't here because he had earned it; he was here because sixteen years ago an infant Goa'uld was closer to Sam's head than his.

"My team and I need to go home," said Benson, bringing Kawalsky back to the present.

"I told you, that's not an option," said Kawalsky. "It's too dangerous to risk any of my men."

"We'll do it alone," said Benson. "Just let us go through the gate. We don't have a place here; it is worth the risk for us if it means we might be able to get back to where we belong."

Kawalsky considered Benson. "I appreciate the sentiment, Colonel, I really do," he said. "And I might consider it, if the situation weren't so extreme. Lord Utu himself is going to land on that planet, and I promise you don't want to be there when he does."

An alarm began to wail, and a flashing red light lit up on the wall.

"Unscheduled gate activation," came a voice over the loudspeaker.

~~00~~

Kawalsky and Benson walked into the command room overlooking the stargate. The iris was closed.

"We're getting a video communication," said the technician. "It's Lord Utu, sir."

"Put him on," said Kawalsky, walking over to a large monitor on one side of the room.

The monitor blinked to life and revealed a Goa'uld host with his back turned to the camera. Beyond him were a row of Jaffa warriors. When the Goa'uld turned around, Benson did a double take. Though he was wearing a gold breastplate and dark makeup around his eyes, the man on camera was unmistakable.

"Is that… Daniel Jackson?" asked Benson.

"It was," said Kawalsky bitterly, "but these days he prefers the name 'Lord Utu'."

Jackson's eyes flashed yellow as he stepped toward the camera.

"Ah, General Kawalsky," he said with the unnatural growl of a Goa'uld. "It has been too long."

Written by Caleb Palmquist